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This & That

Grilled Fava Beans Recipe

When Wayne and I went to Japan earlier this year, one of the highlights of our trip was a quiet little dinner at Asahi. It is an artisan soba spot so tiny you feel as if you could touch all four walls from the center of the place. It is Tokyo's only ital noodle shop (Rastafarian veg cuisine), but the noodles weren't the only highlight. I knew we were in for a great meal when chef Koichi Nakajima started our night with two deeply charred fava beans served on a piece of paper. We split the pods open with our fingers, slipped each fava bean from its skin and popped them in our mouths one after another. It doesn't get much better - simple, smoky, perfectly cooked, and fun to eat. If you haven't tried grilling fresh favas, you must! You can make them on the grill or in a grill pan, then toss them out onto a newspaper where people can dive in and make a bit of a mess with the pods and skins.

Here's the secret. Any seasoning you put on the pods will stick to your fingers. In a good way. Toss the pods with a few glugs of olive oil and some sea salt before placing them on the grill, you can certainly play around with ideas beyond that. I sometimes add crushed red pepper flakes to the olive oil, or finish the favas with lemon zest or freshly chopped dill (or chives) after they come off the grill. The key is getting the grill (or pan) the right temperature - too hot and the pods char before the beans have time to steam in their pods.

Grilled Fava Beans

1 pound of fresh fava beans, still in their pods
a couple glugs of olive oil
a few pinches of salt

In a large bowl toss the fava bean pods with olive oil and salt. Arrange them in a single layer on a grill over medium-high heat. If you're using a grill pan, you may need to cook them in batches. If I'm using an outdoor grill I don't bother covering the favas, but when I use a grill pan, I typically cover the pan with a flat baking sheet to keep more of the heat in the pan and circulating. Grill until blistered on one side - 4 to 5 minutes, then flip and grill for a few minutes more on the other side. If you aren't sure when to pull them off, take a pod off the grill, open and taste one of the beans. You want the fava beans to be smooth and creamy when you pop them out of their skins - not undercooked. But keep in mind that they'll keep steaming in their pods for a few minutes after they come off the grill, unless you eat them as soon as you can handle the pods without singing your fingers - which is what I encourage you to do :) Season the grilled favas with a bit more salt (if needed) and any herbs or lemon zest if you like. To eat: tear open the puffy green pods, take a fava bean, pinch the skin and slide the bright green fava from its slipper. Eat them one at a time and be sure to lick your fingers.

Oh I guess I first saw/ate those char-grilled fava beens in the pods at a nice izakaya almost ten years ago(!) and got hooked - but haven't had these in years, which is a shame. Gotta try them while they are around! Thanks :)

Lisa C.

May 11, 2009

I'm SO excited to try this! I've been eating lots of favas the past few weeks since they made their first appearance of the season at the farmer's market. :) Have always just steamed them... never thought of grilling them! Love the thought of them just steaming inside their pods.

oh yum! I often serve fava beans with a dish of ricotta mixed with lemon zest. Grilling the favas instead of just blanching them would add a whole other delicious dimension to the dish. Thanks for the idea!

Sounds delish! I'm surprised the beans cook through. Are they still quite al dente? Also, do you think this would work with edamame? Seems like it should.

Darien

May 11, 2009

Not sure if it was intentional, but this has all the flavors of foule! My grandmother used to make it for us all of the time - I can't wait to try this "deconstructed" version! As always, kudos to making healthy fresh flavors accessible.

For 3 years, I've been staring at fava beans in the store, trying to figure out what I'd do with them. I bought them once, and they rotted in the refrigerator. Now I know!!!
Could you post some more recipes for them, too?

Thanks! I just finished working through a bunch of fava beans (for the Keller fava bean agnolotti) this weekend. I love the flavor, but I LOVE the Tom Sawyer-like idea of spreading the work around the table...and having it be fun. We'll try this with the next favas that make it in the CSA box. --David

We ate favas this way last night at Mill Valley's Small Shed Flat Bread and discovered that when they're grilled so tender, you can eat the pods, too!

Yasmine

May 11, 2009

Fava beans is a staple food back home (Egypt) It's traditionally slow cooked in what Egyptians call "idra" then it's dressed with olive oil, cumin, salt, pepper, fresh tomatoes and it's eaten like a dip with Egyptian pita bread. I have to say people eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's the cheapest thing you can get besides falafel. People will have it for breakfast with green or red onions..Yes! onions for breakfast. it's the one food that keeps them going, it's called 'fool' in Arabic. I will def. try ur recipe.

I've always wanted to try favas, but didn't know what to do with them. If the beans shoot from their skins like projectiles, the kids will love them! Are there other tasty ways to cook the beans besides grilling? Is there any way to eat them without needing to remove them from the shell and then slip them individually from their skins one at a time at the table?

Christine

May 11, 2009

Kudos Heidi! Thanks for introducing such an exciting and creative way for us to cook fava beans! I like the idea that I won't have to shuck these beans before they get to the table.

Elissar

May 11, 2009

I can't wait to try this! I've always loved eating fresh fava beans, which is a common thing in Lebanese households. I've never had them grilled though!

Fava's are lovely. I have always gone through the hassle of boiling, shelling and then cooking and buttering. Now I will do it this way and enjoy them even more. Thank you so much. I have also e-mailed your site to my DD. Bev

Jennifer

May 11, 2009

Heidi,

I LOVE FAVAS! This sounds great!

I've been making a great fava recipe from Suzanne Goin's book Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Fava bean puree with french feta and black olives on garlic toast. It is INCREDIBLE and has been the hit of every function I've gone to in the last month.

Question: Favas have a very different quality depending on their maturity, and thus cook differently. Is this better with younger beans, or will large starchy ones work as well?

I recently made fava bean tacos...filling them with a relatively classic fava bean salad.
Next time (and there will definitely be a next time), I will try simply grilling them. I will lay out the accoutrements (tortillas, gaucamole, sour cream, cilantro, onion, etc.) and let everyone form their own!

Good lord, this would never in a million years have occurred to me! I love it, the first favas of the season are most definitely getting this treatment.

Dana V

May 11, 2009

Actually, if you get the favas young enough, you can eat the whole thing, pod and all! Pizza Delfina (here in SF) is featuring them on their menu this week fried whole, tempura style, with a little pot of aioli for dipping. Simply, amazingly wonderful! The tempura coating is very light, so the fava flavor really comes through.

I love fresh fava. I never try to grill it.
It is not easy to find it here in the states.This weekend I saw them in the grocery store. I was so surprized and bought some, for sure.
I hope, I can post to recipe this coming week.

meredith

May 11, 2009

Yumm.
I grow these annually, more for the soil than for the food. I have not had good enough, or more to the point, easy enough recipes. THIS should be the trick to get more favas onto our plates and less into the compost where they again serve the soil so effectively. Thanks again for making us happier and healthier with your fabulous recipes.!

Anonymous

May 11, 2009

yummy. I just spent a couple hours grilling buckets of asparagus (with olive oil and salt) at work today. It's so simple but so good.

I wish I knew about this last month! I had a garden full of massive fava beans that I finally composted when I wasn't sure how I wanted to cook them. I know... such a waste!

Pam

May 12, 2009

For those looking for other ways to use fava beans, I HIGHLY recommend Heidi's spring ragout recipe. I made this, I guess it was last spring when it first was posted? And just made it again over the weekend. Fabulous. I'll just share here the same complaint I had last year, that it seems like it's harder to find fresh favas here on the East coast. I never see them at the farmers' markets or in my CSA box - only at Harris Teeter (a grocery chain here). I could try growing them, I suppose ...

These look great! I love discovering new veggies and I just harvested my first crop of sprouting broccoli, a thin bunching type and another great veggie like the fava bean that is well-served to be brought to the front of our tables. Thanks!

I had never seen them done this way, but I can tell they are gorgeous, we love fava (broad beans) in Portugal it is great and the flavour wow, I really like them with chorizo. thx for sharing :) xx Rico-Recipes

Why do anything with the pods when you're going to discard them? It's not good for the compost.

RVGoddess

May 12, 2009

We had something very similiar last week while in St. Helena, California at Tra Vigne. Chef said they tossed the pods with a little EVOO, salt and a dash of honey... then baked in their 500-800 degree wood-fired oven. The entire pod was edible! Delish too. Someone told us the entire pod is only edible in the early, early spring. After that - it is bean only. Thanks!

mmm you guys are lucky to get fresh fava beans for grilling...makes my mouth water. In Singapore by the time we get them imported... there are plenty of other 'foreigners' as well inside the already tough pods. Not good for grilling whole, unless we want to do a scary trick or treat meal for halloween... ;p

I'm always in search of a new way to enjoy fava beans. This looks great!

Nicholas

May 12, 2009

Fava beans mystery – While still in their pods fava beans look up one year and look down the following year. I have been noticing this for years now, here in Malta, but I presume the phenomenon is universal. Has anybody noticed the phenomenon?

My trip to Japan was an eye opener of major proportions for this lil' Mexican gal. I made it a point to eat everything given to me, and I can honestly say that I did not have a bad meal. Every vegetable and fruit, every piece of fish or meat was not just fresh and delicious but absolutely beautiful in it sheer simplicity of presentation. Call it the cross polination of culinary ideas, but my trip to Japan certainly influenced the way I cook Mexican today: fresh honest ingredients, a beautiful presentation. A minimum of fuss. Thank you for your post.

Made your fava bean recipe last night. My grocery store has some fava beans from a local farmer. Olive oil, salt and the grill. The kids loved them and we all thought it was a major dinner success. Thank you!

Sonia

May 15, 2009

Last year when I visited Egypt, I tried their delightful fava dish called foul. If anyone has not tried this and gets a chance, do so! It is mashed fava beans with lemon juice and other seasonings - sort of like a hummus.

Arturo

May 17, 2009

We have been getting favas in our CSA for years and never really had the patience to prepare them, this by far the best way I have ever had them. A big bowl of fava beans, a few friends and a couple of beers.

Frank Blewitt

May 18, 2009

I'm thinking that these comments all come from the US (and Mexico), because here in the UK I've never seen or even HEARD of fava beans being sold in any store.
When we holidayed on the Greek island of Santorini, we learned that they hold a fava festival in about June/July. They cook the bean (out of the pod) and make it into a soup not unlike lentil soup.
The islanders queue up at the church with their thermos flasks, fill them with the free soup and go off to their homes to eat it with warm pitta bread.
We just sat down by the church wall and polished off the fava and pitta in short order.
Delicious!!

Oh man Heidi, just did this in a cast-iron skillet tonight and it turned out beautifully. The finger-licking is really the best part. It's like eating potato chips except healthier and more satisfying.

Bill

May 19, 2009

Nice ! Favas are popular here in Chile ("habas"). This'll be a nice side-veg recipe when using the grill.
My Iranian wife cuts each raw bean in half and removes the skin before using in rice recipes - tedious project for watching TV.